Pb, Har in grip of severe cold; fog hits normal life

Punjab and Haryana were reeling under a severe cold wave even as dense fog hit normal life today across the two neighbouring states.
People were in for bone-chilling conditions as minimum temperatures dropped several notches below normal in various parts of the two states.
A dense fog cover hampered air, rail and road traffic in both the states.
Amritsar in Punjab was the coldest recorded place across the two agrarian states as it shivered at 1.4 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal, a MeT department official said.
Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, and Patiala braved the cold at 4.3 degrees and 5.1 degrees, respectively, three notches below normal.

The Union Territory of Chandigarh, common capital of Punjab and Haryana, saw the mercury drop to 2.1 degrees, four notches below normal.

In neighbouring Haryana, the minimum in Ambala and Hisar settled at 4.7 degrees and 7.6 degrees, respectively.
Karnal recorded a low of 5 degrees while Narnaul saw the mercury settle at 6.7 degrees.
The weather office in its forecast said dry conditions will continue in Punjab and Haryana, while dense fog will occur at some places across both states in the next 24 hours.